Music for Anime:
Neon Genesis Evangelion, Part 1
Review by Jeff Wilson
One of the most talked about and popular anime series of the 1990s has
been Neon Genesis Evangelion. Set in 2015, the series (26 TV episodes,
3 theatrical episodic films) tells the story of the battle against mysterious
beings known only as "Angels." Leading the fight against these
beings are the forces of Nerv, a shadowy organization which controls the
Evangelions, biomechanical robots piloted by a trio of fourteen-year-old
children, selected for reasons that are revealed as the show goes on. Combining
eye-catching, bone-rattling action sequences, a suspenseful storyline,
a boatload of angst and well-developed characters, it is hardly surprising
the show has become such a hit.
Shiroh Sagisu composed the music for the show and its resulting films,
with a few well-chosen classical pieces thrown in as well. The music for
the television series is available on three compact discs, all of which
have about an hour of music or more on each. The most essential disc is
the first, which features all of the main characters' themes, in addition
to cues featured in the first few episodes. Also, the disc begins with
the series' opening theme song, "Thesis of the Cruel Angel,"
and ends with the closing theme, "Fly Me to the Moon." This latter
song, with its dual themes of love and escape, is particularly important
to the series, as most of the characters could be described in part by
this song. The second and third discs feature alternate versions of the
song used throughout the series, totaling nineteen in all. Overkill to
a certain point, but nice for the completists. The opening theme is one
of the best I've heard, sung by Yoko Takahashi. The song has a propulsive
quality that well suits the series.
The background cues used in the shows themselves vary widely, from lounge
to acoustic guitars to bouncy pop to traditional action music with pounding
brass and strings. Sagisu tends toward solo piano on many occasions, embellished
at times with subtle backing instrumentation. The use of solo piano becomes
quite important in the films, when huge forces might normally be marshaled.
The bare bones approach lends an up-front, stark potency to many sequences
in the show and films. While all three of the TV compilations are good,
the first is the most useful, as it sets forth the primary themes to be
used throughout the series. Characters have recurring themes that Sagisu
twists in interesting ways as the series goes on. Consequently, as you
move through the discs, you get increasingly familiar music, albeit in
different settings.
An interesting note about the background music relates to series director
Hideaki Anno, who was immersed in Jungian psychology during the making
of the show. Anno named all the cues himself, relating many to this approach.
Consequently, we have cues such as "In the Depths of Human Hearts,"
"Mother is the First Other," and "The Sorrow of Losing the
Object of One's Dependence."
The first of the three episodic films made after the series' end was
Evangelion: Death. Clocking in at just over 62 minutes, Death uses more
classical music than the other discs. The film, which is essentially a
boiled down version of the series (13 hours of story condensed into 45
minutes), is structured around the concept of the string quartet, with
the four main children of the series comprising the quartet. Consequently,
the soundtrack features the pieces played by this quartet in the film,
which include Bach, Dvorak, Pachelbel and Verdi. Sagisu's music was written
in short bursts, so it doesn't play a large part here. Again, a nice disc
for completists, but not essential. Sound quality on this disc is very
good, and the packaging is excellent as well, with the disc coming in a
slipcase. The strikingly designed booklet includes several shots from the
film. Join us next time for a look at the remaining Eva discs, which include
the other two film soundtracks, the two vocal discs and a symphonic concert
recording.
Neon Genesis Evangelion discs
Volume 1: **** - KICA 286; (King Records) 23 tracks, 58:55
Volume 2: ***1/2 - KICA 290; 25 tracks, 62:57
Volume 3: ***1/2 - KICA 300; 34 tracks, 72:55
Evangelion Death OST: ***1/2 - KICA 360; 16 tracks, 62:12
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